LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Rick Snyder has ordered U.S. flags lowered Thursday for the funeral of a 38-year-old western Michigan soldier who was fatally injured in an insurgent attack in Afghanistan.

The funeral Mass for Sgt. Mark Schoonhoven is at 11 a.m. at St. Margaret Catholic Church in Otsego. Visitation is 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. Wednesday at Winkel Funeral Home in Otsego.

Schoonhoven was from Plainwell and enlisted in 2006. He was part of a unit out of Fort Carson, Colo., and arrived in Afghanistan in November.

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He was wounded Dec. 15 when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device in Kabul, and he died Jan. 20 at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

Schoonhoven’s survivors include wife Tammie, six children, his parents and a brother.

Nevers, convicted in fatal police beating, dies

DETROIT (AP) — A former Detroit police officer convicted in the 1992 fatal beating of a man near a drug house has died. Larry Nevers was 72.

The Macomb County medical examiner’s office says Nevers died Sunday at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital. No details about the cause were immediately available, although Nevers had emphysema.

Nevers and fellow officer Walter Budzyn were convicted of second-degree murder in the death of Malice Green outside a Detroit drug house. The case made headlines because the officers were white and Green was black. The convictions were overturned, but Nevers and Budzyn later were found guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

Nevers was released from prison in 2001. Prosecutors accused him of striking Green 14 times with a heavy flashlight. The officers said significant force was needed to subdue Green.

More Mich. customers on electricity waiting list

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A waiting list to buy power from competitors to Michigan’s two dominant utilities is growing significantly.

The 10,000-plus customers on the waiting list can’t buy electricity from alternative providers because of a 2008 Michigan law limiting competition to 10 percent of the market.

The report issued Friday will provide more fodder for opponents of the cap who want lawmakers to consider raising or eliminating it. House Republicans said last week they will look at the 10 percent cap and other regulatory issues, citing concerns about high electricity bills.

Supporters say the law is working as intended.

Damage, no injuries from small blast at Mich. lab

DETROIT (AP) — Authorities say a small explosion at a suburban Detroit research laboratory has caused damage but no injuries.

Troy Fire Lt. Paul Firth told reporters Monday that a worker at MGA Research mixed water with some anti-freeze and put it into a pressurized chamber. He says the container exploded, spilled water throughout the site and shook loose some ceiling tiles.

The company’s website says it provides and crash testing and work for numerous industries including the automotive industry.

The Clinton County sheriff’s department says it responded Sunday afternoon in Ovid Township, about 20 miles northeast of Lansing, and found the girl dead. WLNS-TV reports the boy was released back into the custody of his parents afterward.

An autopsy was planned and investigators were awaiting the results. Sheriff Wayne Kangas says it appears to be “just a tragedy.”

Grief counselors with the Ovid-Elsie Area Schools are being made available for students on Monday.

Bike-sharing program in the works for Ann Arbor

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — A bike-sharing program is in the works that would include Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan campus.

AnnArbor.com reports the Ann Arbor-based Clean Energy Coalition is developing the program, which could start as early as this fall. Participants will be able to obtain a bicycle at one kiosk and return it miles away, as long as the kiosk is within the bike share system.

Officials say the program could cost between $1.8 million and $2 million to launch and operate for its first three years.

In Detroit, Wayne State University announced last month that it was partnering with several businesses, organizations and institutions to study the feasibility of a bike sharing system. That project could include areas such as Detroit’s downtown and Midtown.

Suburban Detroit community considers $5 rat bounty

ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich. (AP) — A suburban Detroit community is considering offering a $5 bounty for every rat caught in the city as part of a broader rodent-control effort.

The Detroit Free Press reports (http://on.freep.com/VEsPD6 ) the idea is part of a multipronged proposal to deal with rats in St. Clair Shores, which is among a number of communities facing rodent problems. Officials earlier had an aggressive pilot program taking place to help curb the rat population.

City Manager Mike Smith says the proposed bounty is aimed at collecting data to help the battle against rats. The idea was presented last month to City Council. Smith says officials are taking feedback from residents and City Council could take up the issue in March.

The proposed rat-control program also could include inspections, baiting and updated garbage cans.